


Kiss Those Nights Goodbye

by KitsunesKnight



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-08
Updated: 2019-03-08
Packaged: 2019-11-13 16:50:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18035450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KitsunesKnight/pseuds/KitsunesKnight
Summary: When a new kid from a foreign region moves in surrounded by whispers and rumour, one girl refuses to listen, and tries to see what the truth is. And maybe make a lifelong friend along the way.





	Kiss Those Nights Goodbye

He was the new kid, his family had moved in just before the start of the school year, so the nosier members of the class had already learned bits and pieces, so of course there were rumours abound. Only a few things seemed proper and true. The first was that they came from Kalos, that the family was fairly antisocial, and that the boy standing at the front of class now, liked sneaking out at night. Someone’s kid brother knew someone who lived next door or something, and had seen them climbing out the window a few times.

He looked out of place. Tense, and maybe nervous, but determined to do his best. That was how she saw it anyway. Next to him was a dog-like Pokemon, white and fluffy. He introduced himself as Vincent, and his Pokemon as Arluin. The rumours mentioned a description of a Pokemon with the boy as he snuck out, and it seemed to match. Maybe those ones were true...

“There's an open seat next to Faye there, you can sit there.”

Faye glanced to the empty desk. So there was. As Vincent sat, Faye gave him a wide smile. She couldn't imagine what it would be like to move regions, so far away from your friends and everything you recognize. She decided. She would be his friend.

“Hi, I'm Faye,” she said, holding out her hand.

Vincent looked at it, and before anyone could do anything, Arluin had started licking Faye's hand. She laughed and withdrew it, wiping it on her shorts.

“Sorry…” Vincent apologized, patting Arluin on the head once, causing him to immediately retreat and sit down next to him.

“It’s okay!” She said, lowering her voice and quickly stifling her giggles after catching the look of the teacher out of the corner of her eye. “This is Eshe.”

Vincent looked down at Faye’s lap, upon which a bundle of brown fur with big black eyes looked up at him. He opened his mouth to respond, but the teacher turned back to the class and announced they would be getting started.

The boy immediately turned to attention, and no longer gave Faye any notice. She huffed internally, gave Eshe a pet, and also turned to the front of class. She spared one corner-of-her-eye glance at Vincent, but both he and his foreign Pokemon were paying apt attention. But this wasn’t over.

Faye found no way to corner Vincent throughout the day, even at lunch. She wondered a few times if he was avoiding her, but when she spotted him rushing out the front doors, she wondered if he was just avoiding everyone. She was already hearing whispers of him being a delinquent, or shady, or whatever other colourful descriptions they were coming up with, all because he’d sneak out at night.

“Vincent!” Faye called out, breathless as she had to sprint after him, and still only caught him just after he left the school grounds.

He paused and turned, a confused look on his face at the girl panting in front of him. “What?” He asked after a moment’s consideration.

Faye held up a finger, took in a deep breath, made sure Eshe was still on her shoulder, then straightened. “I just um… wanted to talk to you?”

He raised an eyebrow, shrugged, then turned to walk more calmly down the sidewalk. Arluin barked at the pair, wagged his tail, then followed his owner. Faye traded a look with Eshe, also shrugged, and jogged to catch up.

“So um… you came from Kalos?” Faye asked, unsure how to proceed.

“Oui.”

Faye had only heard smatterings of Kalosian, and hadn’t actually expected it. “Oh. Um. Do you… not speak uh… b-but then how would you… uh…”

Vincent snorted, and Faye could’ve sworn she saw a brief smile on his lips before he turned to look at her. “Yes, I speak more than Kalosian.”

His deadpan tone made Faye narrow her eyes. Was he messing with her on purpose? Well if he was, it wasn’t going to make her go away, not that easily. She instead recollected herself and put her best bubbly voice on. “That’s so cool that you can speak two languages! Was it something you had to learn, or did you just pick it up on your own?”

“School had classes for it. More important in Coumarine, since it’s a port city,” Vincent explained, his gaze once more pointed forward. 

“We have a port city here in Hoenn too!” Faye offered. “Slateport is over on the West coast, I’ve never been there, but it would be cool to visit sometime!”

“Mmm, fly all the way there on your Eevee?” Vincent asked in a tone leaving Faye confused if he was joking or just being rude.

Staying positive was proving to be a struggle. “No! Obviously drive there! Maybe the school will take a field trip or… or maybe when I get my license I’ll drive down there myself! That would be fun! A whole road trip down to the coast!” She grinned, and mimed steering a wheel in front of her.

Vincent didn’t respond right away, but then nodded. “That could be cool.” He stopped then and turned to Faye. “I’ve gotta get home. You should probably go too.”

Faye looked around. They had stopped near one of the large fields at the edge of town. It was a newer area, and definitely not near where she lived. The abruptness of his comment put her off again, and she spent a moment trying to figure out how to respond.

“Wow, you must really wanna get home huh? Pretty nice place you have? This is the newer area of-” Faye started, but something in Vincent’s expression changed, and she stopped. “I-I mean, I guess I do live a bit further away, but I don’t mind keeping you company for a bit if you want?”

Vincent shook his head, avoiding her gaze now. “No, you should go.” He paused. “But… thanks.”

Before Faye could offer anything in return, he turned and ran off with Arluin on his heels.

“...Goodbye.” Faye said to herself, before turning and walking back towards her own house.

The next week had Faye trying a few new tactics to get Vincent to talk to her, but few seemed to work. He’d offer maybe a piece of information here or there, like Coumarine had two sections, the land half including a Grass-type Gym, and that Arluin was a Pokemon called a Furfrou. But it was hard to track him down, since he was never in the cafeteria at lunch, was always paying attention in class, and was always one of the first ones out the door at the end of the day. So she always gave him a cherry hello and a warm smile when they sat down for their first class of the day, and always caught up to him when he left. but always made sure to say goodbye before they reached the field from the first day.

At the end of their first week of classes, Vincent seemed even more gloomy than usual. So Faye got an idea. After saying her usual cheery farewell to Vincent, to which he didn’t even respond this time, she turned the corner away to her own house, but stopped after being out of view. After waiting a few moments, she poked her head out around the corner. Eshe growled curiously, wondering what her owner was up to.

“Shh, I just want to see where he goes, make sure he’s okay,” she whispered down to her.

It turned out her question was answered right away. Vincent didn’t even go all the way down the street. He had waited until she was out of sight, then gone down into the open field. Curious, Faye crept forward, hiding behind a fence next to the sidewalk that bordered her side of the field.

On the ground was Vincent’s open backpack, out of which he had pulled a ball, and seemed to be playing fetch with Arluin. But then he’d start tossing it in strange ways, causing it to roll different ways across the ground, or even twist in mid-air. He would give Arluin commands as he did, and Faye realized he was practicing an approximation of Pokemon battling. Normally this wasn’t something Faye appreciated, she never understood how Trainers could go out and have their precious friends beat each other to within an inch of their lives, but this was only practice. No one was getting hurt. She supposed it was okay. For now.

Faye watched for a few minutes, and after deciding her opinion on this activity, was about to leave, when Vincent stopped throwing the ball. Arluin had run halfway back out the field expecting the next throw, but when it never came, he looked back. Vincent stood with his head hanging, staring at the ball in his hands. Arluin whined and returned to his owner, and Vincent fell to his knees and wrapped his arms around the Pokemon.

Frowning, Faye wondered what to do. Should she go try to comfort him? Maybe this was why he never wanted her to follow him past this point. No, she shouldn’t ambush him like this, he’d only get upset. Instead she retreated back behind the fence and sighed. Even Eshe whined, and it looked like she wanted to rush out there herself.

“No Eshe… We should leave him be for now. We’ll see what we can do next week, okay?” Faye assured the Pokemon. “Come on, let’s get home.”

Monday morning, Vincent didn’t show up for first class. Murmurs all around Faye echoed through the room after class ended. First it was sneaking out of his house and now it was skipping classes, maybe he hated it here that much he couldn’t stand to come to school, maybe he ran away to go back to Kalos, maybe he got arrested for something, maybe-

“Maybe YOU’RE all the terrible ones!” Faye suddenly spat out, before grabbing her bag and rushing out of the room, Eshe on her heels, silence left in her wake.

Faye went straight for the front doors, muttering to herself how terrible everyone was for their horrible rumours that were definitely not true, when she ran into someone and fell to the ground.

“O-Oh, I-I’m so sorry, I didn’t…” Wiping a tear away, Faye looked up to see who she ran into.

She didn’t expect to see Vincent standing there, looking very surprised. “Are you okay?” He asked finally, holding out a hand. “Isn’t your locker the other way?”

Faye sniffled, took his hand, and got back to her feet. “Um. Yeah. I just… was gonna try to get some fresh air. I’m uh…” She sniffled again. “Not feeling well.”

Vincent considered this for a moment, then coughed. “Yeah, me too. I’ll go with you.”

He immediately turned and started heading for the front doors, which Faye realized he had just come in through. He led her over to the side where he sat on an open patch of grass. She sat next to him, while Eshe ran over to Arluin, and started sniffing at him.

“You um… missed the first class,” Faye said after a moment of silence.

“Wasn’t feeling well,” he repeated, glancing over at Arluin, who now had Eshe bouncing around him in circles.

“Right…” Faye wondered if there was a way to bring up what she’d seen last week.

“Why were you crying?” He asked, still looking at the Pokemon.

“What? Oh, n-no, I was just…” She realized there was no reason to lie and sighed. “People in class were spreading rumours about why you weren’t there. I ended up yelling at them…”

Vincent finally looked over at Faye, and he seemed confused as to why she would do that. He didn’t say anything for a little while again, and Faye was about to suggest they should head back in for their next class, when he finally said “Thanks.”

Something about the way he said that surprised her, and when the bell rang and Vincent stood up, she still sat for a moment, until Eshe leapt into her lap, hiding from Arluin’s nose.

“That was the bell,” Vincent said, holding out a hand for Faye again. “You should get going to class.”

“Oh. Right!” Faye grabbed his hand and hopped to her feet, Eshe in her hands, now feeling much better. “Have a good day!”

With a glowing smile to Vincent, Faye turned and jogged back inside, hoping she had time to get to her locker without being late, expecting not to see him until the end of the day as usual.

So it was to her surprise that when the lunch bell rang, Vincent found Faye and asked her to come out to the front again. She found out this was where he spent his lunch hour, and that he seemed to have quite a bit of food on hand.

“Wow! Your mom must be quite a cook!” Faye exclaimed as he pulled out the various containers of homemade food.

Vincent winced. “Actually… I made this…” He said quietly.

While confused about the wince, Faye didn’t skip a step in her enthusiasm. “YOU made all this!? That’s amazing! I had no idea you liked cooking!”

“Yeah, I have to make food for myself a lot so… I ended up trying to figure out how to make it good, it sucked to eat the same bland stuff all the time,” he said, as he popped open the lids and pushed it towards Faye. “Go ahead, I always bring extra.”

One particular container he kept to himself, popped open, and set down in front of Arluin. It seemed to be something made specially for the Pokemon. Eshe darted over, and sniffed it as well. Arluin took the first bite, but then nosed it carefully in Eshe’s direction. Before long the two were digging in enthusiastically.

Among the food made for people, Faye was having a hard time deciding where to start. Vincent ended up taking a little of everything and putting it on one of the lids and offering it to her. She gladly accepted, and after he asked about what normally went on in the cafeteria, Faye told Vincent all about what had gone on the last week.

“You know, you should come in tomorrow! You don’t have to bring me anything, but it’d be nice to have you inside. If you want. You don’t have to!” She exclaimed, as the bell rang for the end of the hour.

Vincent didn’t look up from putting his containers away. “Maybe. You should get to class.”

Faye had learned by now that was a cue to leave, so she gave him another smile, a wave, a goodbye, and darted back inside. This was progress! 

****

The next few weeks went by smoothly. Faye wasn’t always invited to join Vincent for lunch outside, but she was happy on the days he did. It was just over a month since classes had started when Faye spotted Vincent standing near the cafeteria doors, his eyes flicking back and forth down the hallway. Arluin noticed her first, and nudged Vincent’s leg, to which he looked over and waved at Faye.

“Come to join the rest of us for lunch today?” Faye asked, happy to see him inside today.

“I thought I’d try it,” he answered, shrugging.

“Allow me to guide you!” She said, practically bouncing up next to Vincent, and grabbing his arm to lead him inside.

The pair found a seat, with Arluin crawling under the bench so he could sit under the table, his head resting next to Vincent, while Eshe hopped up next to Faye. The first thing Vincent pulled out was the food for the Pokemon, which he placed under the table so they could eat while keeping out of the way. While he was pulling out the rest of his food, which was the usual two-person fare Faye had seen the other times he’d invited her outside, a few other students wandered past, muttering, while stealing glances at Vincent.

Faye saw Vincent’s ears turn slightly red, and he held onto the last container of food, staring down at the table. “Don’t listen to them.”

He scoffed. “Why not? Might as well be true at this point… I know what they say.”

“What do you mean might as well be true? They don’t know you!” Faye pushed back.

“You don’t even know me! Why are you even doing this? Never mind, this was a mistake.”

Vincent swiftly grabbed his containers and shoved them back into his bag, swinging it over his shoulder as he stood up from the table and charged out of the lunch room before Faye could even open her mouth in response. Arluin scrambled to get out from under the table, but couldn’t get out before Vincent had already disappeared. The Pokemon gave Faye a concerned look over his shoulder, before following his owner out the door.

Faye just sat in stunned silence, staring at the door, until she heard the low giggles and chuckles of the people who’d witnessed the outburst. Eshe hopped back up into her lap, looking up at Faye confused, unsure what just happened. Faye gave her a pet idly, eyes having a hard time looking away from the door. It was a few minutes before she noticed the empty container that had the Pokemon food in it. She picked it up tentatively, held it, looked it over.

Then got an idea.

The rest of the day went by, the empty container sitting in Faye’s bag, and with no sign of Vincent reappearing. When the final bell rang, Faye ran for the front doors. With Eshe on her heels, Faye made the entire walk down to the fence she usually left Vincent at. Jogging up to the end of the fence, she pulled the empty food container out of her bag and looked it over again. He’d left it behind, all she was doing was returning it. That’s all she needed… definitely not an excuse to maybe find out exactly where he was living, or see if he was any different at home or why he seemed so upset in the field all those days ago.

With a deep breath, Faye stepped forward past the fence-

“Faye?”

-And then nearly leapt full on out of her skin as the voice called out, spinning around so hard she missed who said it, and almost fell on her rear. She took a moment to make sure her heart was still placed in her chest, then spun to look at Vincent. He was sitting with his back against the fence, Arluin sat next to him as always.

“Yes! That is… I-I mean. What… what are you doing sitting here?” Faye asked, trying to pull herself back into the moment.

“Oh… Nothing. Just…” He paused, then looked out across the field, away from Faye. “Nothing. What do you want?”

His flat tone hurt a little, but Faye did her best to brush it off. “You um… left a container back at school,” she said, holding it out for him.

He didn’t look over or try to grab it, but Arluin walked over, picked it up in his mouth, and then sat back down next to Vincent, placing it on the ground.

“Thanks.”

Faye stood there awkwardly, looked down to Eshe, who seemed similarly unsure, then looked back up at Vincent.

“You gonna answer my question?” Vincent asked, interrupting Faye’s deep breath and open mouth.

“Ah, uh, your what?” Faye asked, confused.

“My question. Why are you doing this? Why even bother talking to me, chasing after me every day. Why? Why do you care?” He continued looking straight ahead, across the empty field.

Faye didn’t answer right away. She took a moment to really consider her words, as she realized what this moment might mean for him.

“Because I want to. Because I think you need a friend, I feel bad that you moved here, not knowing anyone, and I don’t want you to feel alone. It’s not fair for you, so I thought I could help,” she said, hoping she was coming across the right way.

“Why do you think I even deserve a friend?” Vincent asked after a moment, and Faye thought she heard his voice break a little. “I certainly don’t think I do.”

At this, Faye was sure she felt her heart break. “What? Why would you think that?” She finally hurried to his side - or as close as she could get without pushing past Arluin, and dropped to her knees. “Vincent I might not know you very well yet, but I have a very good feeling about you. You shrug people off, you rush out the door, but I just… I see the small smiles I get when I talk about things, or ask you questions about your home. When we share food, you’re so much happier than normal. Vincent, I want to get to know you. And not just because your food is way better than what my mom makes me for lunch.”

Vincent couldn’t contain a huff of laughter, despite it being choked out at the end by the tears Faye now saw flowing down his face.

“You really mean that don’t you?” He asked, finally looking at her.

She nodded. “I do. I’m sorry things are rough for you here, and I wish I could make those jerks stop whispering about you. But trust me, you do have at least one friend here, okay?”

Vincent turned away and looked out to the small lake that bordered the field. It was still, calm, but still reminded him of home. Closing his eyes, he recalled the sound of crashing waves, and a few breaths later opened his eyes and felt as still and calm as the lake.

“Feel better?” Faye asked, taking a chance on reaching her hand forward and placing it on his shoulder.

“Yeah. Uh… Thanks,” Vincent turned back and took one more deep breath. “I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me since I got here. You can be a little pushy about it,” he laughed, “but maybe I needed that.”

Faye laughed and shook her head. “Pushy huh? Well if I’m already pushing, how about I invite you to come over for supper tomorrow? I mean I’ll have to double check with my parents, but I doubt they’ll have a problem. Unless you cook your own suppers too, then maybe I should come over to your house!”

Vincent’s face went white. “N-No, y-you uh… No I’ll come to your place. But I should uh… I should go.” When Vincent looked back down, he seemed okay again, despite Faye’s worry. “I’ll see you tomorrow okay?”

Though he was now smiling again already, Faye had a feeling there was more to unpack here. He trusted her now though, so she brightened up and responded. “Okay! I’ll let you know the details tomorrow!”

***

“I guess it all makes sense now, knowing you live on a ranch Vincent said, sitting on the top stair of the back porch of Faye’s home.

“Excuse me?” She replied from one step down, false offense obvious in her voice.

Vincent chuckled. “It’s nice out here, kinda far away from everything else, surrounded by Pokemon… I could get used to it. It was always fairly bustling in Coumarine. Lots of ships, tourists, boistrous sailors, excited Trainers… Bummed out Trainers after washing out at the Gym…”

It was Faye’s turn to chuckle. “You know, I never understood why people have to go out and sic their Pokemon on each other like that. It’s practically barbaric.”

Vincent considered that a moment, which made Faye nervous at first, most people just laughed at her, but he nodded slowly afterwards. “I can understand why you’d think that. Though I can also understand why people do it. I’ve never really thought about becoming a full-time Trainer like a lot of them do, but hardship can make you close to someone. Since it’s easy to fight, and most battles don’t cause any lasting harm, they use that to get closer both to other Trainers and your own Pokemon.”

That was the most well-thought out response Faye had ever gotten, and it took her a moment to reply. “I… I guess I can see that. I still don’t like it.”

Vincent nodded, looking out over the open area filled with Pokemon of all types playing together. “Yeah, I understand that. People do funny things.”

Faye opened her mouth to respond, paused, bit her lip, then asked anyway. “Like how you sneak out at night?”

Looking down at her quizzically Vincent asked back, “I thought you didn’t listen to the rumours?”

“I-I don’t!” Faye insisted. “I mean, I hear them, but, I mean, this one sounded real, it’s okay if it’s not real, or even if it is! I was just curious… I’m sorry!”

The response was just a sigh and a shrug of his shoulders. “No, it’s okay I guess. It’s not that big a deal, though I guess I can see why it’s a popular rumour…” He waved his hand dismissively. “I’m not even out that late, but one of the first places we stopped by when we moved here was a small restaurant, it was great, and the owner and chef was really friendly. When I showed an interest in cooking, he invited me to the back. I was only too happy to get away, and he told me I could come by any time. Actually, he told me that the first night I snuck out just to be gone, and caught me on the street, but…”

Vincent shrugged again and Faye giggled. “Wow, you’re so dark and mysterious, sneaking out to go cook illegal food in the back of a self-owned restaurant.”

“Super dark, very mysterious. Also don’t forget you’ve eaten that illegal food, so you’re in on it now,” He looked directly into Faye’s eyes suddenly. “You have to keep my secret from everyone or the next food you eat might kill you.”

Faye giggled again, but Vincent held the stare just long enough it turned into nervous laughter. At which point he broke in full and started laughing, causing Faye to smack his knee.

“That was not funny!” She said between her own fits of laughter.

“Totally was. But yeah, a lot of nights I need to just get some space, so I sneak out and head to the restaurant and use it to cook food. Usually lunch for the next day. Sometimes I’m lucky enough to make it at home, but…”

He trailed off and Faye gave him a concerned look, but he was looking out over the field again, and she’d already asked one invasive question tonight. Maybe it was best to leave it at that.

“Well, I can at least say you do a good job. Maybe you’ll own your own little restaurant somewhere, someday.”

“Maybe,” he answered. “I’m not sure what I want to do. I just know I can’t wait to get there. To get out of here.” He paused. “Not like, here here, just like. Not where I’m at. What do you wanna do?”

Faye chuckled. “Good change of topic. But I dunno, I love Pokemon, spent all my life helping raise them. I wouldn’t mind learning more about them. Biology I guess? Would be useful in helping take care of the ranch.”

“Yeah. You’re good with this kind of stuff, that makes sense,” Vincent agreed.

“What do you mean?”

Vincent went a bit pink and looked away. “Y’know like… nurturing and stuff… You’re really nice…”

He started mumbling and trailed off at that point, but Faye also turned a bit pink. “Oh… Thanks.” She put a hand on his knee. “I mean it. Also, if the restaurant doesn’t work out for you at night, you’re free to come sit with the Pokemon here. Now that they know you they’ll be fine.”

Vincent looked back at Faye and gave a small smile. “Thanks.”

They sat together in relative silence until the sun reached the top of the trees.

***

“Well, I have to say, t-shirts in winter is definitely new to me,” Vincent commented, walking down the street. “Freezes over in Kalos usually.”

“Mmm, it’s nice isn’t it?” Faye asked, stretching, a bounce in her step, wearing a tank top and shorts herself.

The two of them now spent a lot of their after school time wandering the city, and today Vincent was finally taking Faye to the restaurant where he spent many of his nights. They came upon The Lum and Pinap in short order, and Faye let out an “ooh” as they walked through the front door.

“I remember this now, it just started up recently. Never had the chance to come, but I love the building!” Faye exclaimed as they stepped in.

The building was decorated in tropical colours and designs, but none of which that looked quite like Hoenn. It was warm and inviting, and delicious smells wafted into her nose immediately.

“Mmm… This isn’t from Hoenn though, is it?” Faye asked, as Vincent led them to the back.

“Nope, Herve comes from Alola, he makes a lot of his foods with fruits and berries!” He said, sounding more excited than Faye had ever heard him before. “Herve! I’m here!”

“Vincent, that you!?” The voice came from a tall, darker skinned man with a slight accent in full white chef gear, including the tall slightly puffy hat. “Ahh, it is! And I see you’ve brought your friend along! I’m very happy to meet you. My name is Herve, welcome to The Lum and Pinap!”

He held out a large hand, which Faye took and shook, the man’s high spirits making her smile. “Thank you! My name is Faye. May I ask what the chef special today is?”

“Ahh!” Herve turned back to grill he was working at. “Hamburgers, but with an Alolan twist! The meat was marinated with a berry mixture, and is topped with a sweet sauce and slices of pinap!” He turned to the pair again. “Would you like one?”

“Yes please!” They said in unison.

“Alright then! Vincent, come help me! Miss Faye, please take a seat outside. We will be with you shortly!”

Faye headed back to the door, but turned back to watch Vincent throwing on an apron and joining Herve in making up some of the orders. He’d only been here a few months by now, but the two of them were working in such unison she could’ve guessed it was years. It was also the happiest and most natural she’d ever seen Vincent.

Within a handful of minutes, Herve was back out with a large plate with the burger, and some fries. “And here we are! Please let me know how it is!”

It smelled wonderful, sweet and savoury, not usual for a hamburger, but not off-putting either. Herve actually sat down across from her, as if waiting to hear the result, so Faye took a bite. It was as good as it smelled. Unique, and wonderful.

“I love it!” She exclaimed.

“That’s wonderful! I’m very happy I could make such a good friend of Vincent’s happy.”

“He’s told me he hangs out a lot here, especially later at night when he needs space?” Faye asked before taking another bite.

Herve’s face fell a little, and he nodded. “Yeah. When I first saw him he looked miserable. Wasn’t hard to overhear why. Parents arguing about moving, about jobs, about everything. Poor Vincent was stuck in the middle, both of them seemed to be using him as an excuse for what they wanted, or support for their ideas. Sad, really. He just happened to mention cooking while I was walking by, and saw it as a way to maybe help him. It’s hard moving to a place you don’t know. I thought I could offer some hospitality.”

Faye nodded. “I thought the same. School isn’t much better for him. Rumours and whispers about him are everywhere. It’s dying off a little though, probably since he manages to stay out of the way. Still feel bad for him though…”

“Well, at least he’s not alone,” Herve said with a smile. “Alright, I’m gonna go help him finish up so you two can enjoy your meals together.”

“Thanks Herve!”

***

The end of the school year was close, and while Faye was worrying constantly about tests and grades, she noticed Vincent wasn’t sweating it at all. She recalled how he was always so focused in class, and realized that while he was distant around school and separated from the other students, he must’ve been taking the lessons seriously.

“So you’re not worried about finals at all?” Faye asked.

“Nope,” said Vincent with a shrug, tossing his ball across the field to let Arluin chase it again. “I can help you if you need it though.”

Faye sighed. “I’ll let you know… I think I’m doing okay, it’s just stressful.” She had to giggle though as she watched Eshe try to chase after Arluin, but only making half the distance before Arluin had turned around and passed her again. “You know most delinquents aren’t known for being school nerds.”

“I take my delinquency very seriously,” he answered, very seriously, before tossing the ball back out again. “You can’t be a problem kid at school if you get kicked out.”

Faye giggled again. “But really, are you just that motivated to do well?”

Vincent shrugged. “Kinda I guess. Doing well means my parents won’t have a reason to ask me about it, which keeps them at bay. Also means I have more options when I finish high school. I’m not saying I’ll do that well in all the tests, but I’m confident enough in what I’m putting forward, that it’s the best I can do.”

“Wow. Yeah I guess that makes sense. You can be very driven,” Faye nodded for emphasis. “Though, I have a question I’ve been meaning to ask… It’s not a nice one though.”

Vincent took the ball from Arluin again and took in a deep breath. “It’s about my parents, right? How I never talk about them, how I’m always trying to get away from them?”

“Basically, yeah. Herve told me a little that first day. The rest I’ve pieced together from various conversation.”

He tossed the ball out again. “Yeah, things aren’t great. I want to say the Hoenn move was the catalyst, but the more I think about it the more I think there were problems long before then, but I was too young to realize it. They’re just not happy people. I think they want to care, or maybe they don’t, I don’t know. But in the end they don’t, not really. They never ask how my day goes, or if I make any friends, or how school is going - unless they’re told I’m doing poorly, then I get in trouble.

“I mean, I sneak every other night and they’ve never noticed, not once. Or if they do, they don’t care. Herve’s place feels more like home than home does. I feel more comfortable at your ranch than in my own room. It’s really hard.”

Arluin came back and nuzzled Vincent before dropping the ball again. Vincent didn’t pick it up right away, and Eshe came hopping in and jumped at the ball, pushing it around with her paws and chasing after it.

“I know, but you’re not alone,” Faye assured him.

“Yeah, I know. It means a lot. And hey, only a couple more years until we can move on to whatever we want, right? You know I heard Unova has one of the best schools for Biology.”

Arluin was now play fighting over the ball with Eshe, and while both of them were distracted with each other, Vincent leaned forward and snatched it away from them. Then tossed it downfield again where Eshe couldn’t keep up.

“Unova huh?” Faye said. “I’ve never been anywhere outside of Hoenn. It could be exciting. Scary too though. I wouldn’t be alone though, right?”

She stared at Vincent, who looked her back in the eyes. “Definitely not.”

***

“Happy birthday dear Vincent, happy birthday to you!”

The song that filled The Lum and Pinap came to a close, and Herve put the small cake on the table in front of Vincent, who had his head in his hands.

“Come on Vincent, blow out the candles!” Faye encouraged, with agreement from Herve, Eshe, and Arluin.

Vincent lifted his head and Faye saw he’d been crying. He sniffed, took a breath and blew out the single candle on the cake. “Thanks guys… Even if told you not to.”

Even though he tried to sound angry he failed miserably, and the small party of people and Pokemon only smiled and wagged their tails.

“So what’s it like being 16? I need to know for when it happens to me later,” Faye asked, sitting down across from Vincent as Herve cut into the cake.

“Not really any different,” Vincent said with a shrug, his voice coming back to normalcy after wiping away his tears. “Guess I can get my driver’s license though. That could be cool.”

Herve nodded as he served the pair large slices of cake. “It sure would. In fact, I have two presents for you today Vincent!”

Vincent paused with cake halfway to his mouth. “I’m sorry, presents? Two? Herve, you don’t-”

“Ah ah ah, do not worry, they are also presents for me!” He laughed. “The first, is that I can now offer you a proper paying position here, if you would like. Part time, help me run the restaurant!”

Vincent’s mouth hung open, but eventually he nodded. “Y-Yeah, yes! That would be awesome! What uh… What’s the second one?”

Herve laughed again and directed them outside and around to the side of the building. “The second comes when you get that driver’s license! You can borrow the truck whenever you need it, but you’re also in charge of using it to make supply runs and such, yeah?”

“Herve you’re the best,” Faye said said softly, hardly believing what was being offered.

Meanwhile Vincent stood still, just staring at the truck. Faye noticed after a moment that he was crying again, tears streaming down his face. His mouth was slightly open, as if trying to speak but getting caught in his throat.

“Herve I…” He started.

“I know boy, I know,” Herve said softly, before pulling Vincent into a hug. “You have a life to live Vincent, I want to make sure you get out there and see it.”

Faye smiled, tears welling up in her own eyes, as she watched Vincent’s shoulders shake as he buried his face into Herve’s chest, the two of them hugging each other close. After they broke apart, and Vincent wiped his tears away again, he suddenly walked over to Faye and gave her a hug as well.

“Thank you for everything. I couldn’t have hoped for a better friend here than you,” Vincent said softly. “Thank you so much.”

Feeling like her heart might burst, Faye stroked his hair a little and hugged him back. “I’m happy I could be here for you.”

As he pulled away, she leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek. They both went pink, but the moment didn’t last long as Herve ushered them back inside the restaurant to eat the cake they left behind.

***

Summer came quickly. Faye did better than she expected in the end, with some of Vincent’s help. He did even better, and to their surprise, much of the drama around him seemed to finally quiet down to nothing. He still enjoyed sitting outside much of the day though, and still didn’t hang around at school.

These days he’d wait for Faye to meet him by the front so they could walk around together before heading home. Sometimes he’d follow her home to check in on the Pokemon at the ranch. Often he’d go to the restaurant with her, since he was working that day. With summer came more work for him, and though he spent more days at the restaurant, Faye was often there anyway, hanging around, reading books, talking to Vincent and Herve if it wasn’t so busy.

She had her own work to do on the ranch too though, which is often where she was if she didn’t have time to hang around. In fact, the two of them rarely got much time to just relax together. They didn’t mind too much though, since the days they did get were amazing. It was a wonderful summer, overall

But Vincent didn’t want it to go by without something special. He went to the Casella ranch without telling Faye to speak to her parents about a special trip he was planning. They agreed, and he was surprised to hear from them how much his presence had changed her over the last months.

She had some friends move away the year before, the only people she was really close to. It suddenly made sense to him why she never had anyone else to spend time with, despite living here all her life. It really had her withdraw, but the last few months she had really come back to the full personality everyone expected. Vincent hadn’t even realized, and he felt happy that for everything she had done for him, that he had been able to do something for her in return, and emboldened his plans for the trip.

When it finally came to the last weekend before school started up again, Vincent pulled up to the Casella ranch late afternoon on Friday in the restaurant truck.

“Vincent! What are you doing here?” Faye asked, happily surprised.

“Taking you on a trip. Consider it an early birthday present, since I definitely won’t have much for you on the day of. Do you remember how you said you’d never been to Slateport before?” Vincent asked, grinning.

She looked at him confused before widening her eyes in realization. “Wait, you want to take me to Slateport?”

“Yeah!” He exclaimed. “I want to see what a Hoenn port city looks like! Maybe I can show you some of the things I recognize from home! Or see where things are different, I dunno, but let’s go!”

While Faye was taken aback, she was also pulled in by his excitement. “Yeah! Of course! Wait, I have to ask my parents if I can-”

“Already did that!” Vincent grinned. “I’ve been planning this half the summer. Grab your stuff and let’s go!”

Faye smiled wide and spun back inside, running to pack a bag. Her parents were in the living room waiting to say goodbye, told her to be safe, and to have fun. She promised she would, and within minutes the two of them were cruising down the road towards Slateport.

It was late by the time they got there, but Vincent seemed to have that as part of the plan. He took the truck off the main road and up onto a lookout over the ocean, one he hadn’t seen for a year. The sun was just setting, oranges flickering across the expanse of water, purples and blues mixing in the open sky.

Vincent parked the truck at the top and leaned back. “This is a view I’ve missed.”

When he glanced at Faye, she was wide-eyed, her open mouth upturned in a smile. “Vincent it’s beautiful!”

He rolled down the windows and was met with the salty fresh air he hadn’t smelled in a year. “Ahh… That’s the ocean, Faye. This is where I used to live. Colder, generally, but… Oh I’m so glad I could show you at least this much. I wish you could see Coumarine itself, but I’m glad we’ll be able to see this place together too.”

Faye pulled at his sleeve so she could get him closer, and leaned against his shoulder, looking out over the soft waves. “Thank you Vincent,” she said softly.

They sat in silence for awhile, and Vincent felt his heartbeat start running a little faster, silently opening his mouth a few times before closing it again. Faye finally noticed after a few times and sat up.

“Vincent, are you okay?” She asked.

“Y-Yeah!” He sputtered. “I just um… I wanted to uh… Ask you something…”

He knew he was acting all nervous now but he couldn’t help it. His heart was ringing in his ears and it was all he could do to keep his breathing steady.

“What is it?” Faye asked, now looking concerned.

“I um… I wanted to know if uh…” He took a few deep breaths, praying this ended the way he hoped it would. “Faye I… I really like you. I know it’s only been a year, and I dunno if you’re quite on the same page but um… I was really hoping that… Well, would you go out with me? Officially? You mean so much to me, and I really just wanted to make it offi-”

His words were cut off as Faye lunged forward, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling his lips to hers in a full kiss.

“Yes Vincent!” Faye said through light tears after she pulled away. “Yes, absolutely yes! You mean so much to me too. Did you really think I could say no after a surprise trip to somewhere that means so much to you like this? You’re such a dweeb!”

“Hey!” Vincent exclaimed back, his own tears running down his face. “I’m a delinquent and far too cool to be called a dweeb!”

“You got top marks in school, you are a dweeb, and I don’t even care either way!”

Before he could argue any further, she pulled him back in for another kiss.

That weekend was one they would never forget.

***

The first semester of school felt equal parts routine and yet completely new. Vincent had to get used to having a girlfriend, even if it was still just Faye, things felt different. New. Exciting. Good. They still hung out outside during lunch, Faye had long since stopped bringing her own lunches, since Vincent had such good access to a kitchen and supplies for meals. He always had something fun and tasty to bring. The whispers around school had stopped, or at least had their subject changed. Their change in relationship was no secret, and people just didn’t care as much about the New Kid anymore, especially after he didn’t kick up such a storm as people were expecting.

Things were going great. His parents still fought all the time, but it felt distant now, he wasn’t even sneaking out as much anymore. It was easier to deal with, since he was spending more time away from home either way, with his job or out with Faye. He spent even more time at the ranch where they would do homework together, or take care of the Pokemon.

So it was crushing when, shortly after the start of the second semester of school the next year, he and Faye turned the corner to the restaurant after school and found an ambulance out front. Vincent felt his heart go cold.

“Herve!?” He shouted, sprinting forward, rushing to the front doors.

“Vincent!” Faye called after him, trying to keep up.

An officer put a hand out to stop Vincent from sprinting into the front doors. “Hold on there, we can’t let anyone in right now. Who are you?”

“Is Herve okay!?” Vincent demanded.

“Relax son, I need to know who you are,” the officer said.

“I work here! My name is Vincent, now please tell me if Herve is okay!”

The man sighed. “I’m sorry Vincent… It doesn’t look good. Herve had an emergency medical issue, we don’t even know what it is yet.” The ambulance pulled away behind Vincent. “They’re taking him to the hospital now. They’ll do everything they can…”

Faye had caught up at this point, and put a hand on Vincent’s shoulder. “Hey, he’s a strong man, he’ll be okay.”

Vincent shook his head and stepped away from the officer. “Faye, I… What am I gonna do if he… He can’t just leave like that…”

“I’m sure he won’t if he can help it. You know how much he loves you. He’ll do everything he can to stay,” Faye assured him.

“I can’t lose him,” Vincent said softly.

“I know…” Faye pulled Vincent into a hug, which he only returned after a few moments.

“I can’t lose him…”

***

Within the month The Lum and Pinap had closed down. Vincent got possession of the truck, but he ended up giving it to the Casellas, saying he couldn’t keep it at home anyway. There was truth to that, but he also could hardly stand to look at it. It had meant everything to him, but now it was just a harsh reminder that Herve was gone.

Vincent felt himself withdraw again, and he knew it wasn’t fair to Faye, but it was so hard to keep focus. He started slipping in school, enough that his parents started calling on him to ask for an explanation. Nothing he said pleased them, all they wanted was his grades to go back up.

He really tried, but nothing felt right. Nothing except Faye, who stood by him every day despite his attitude towards everything. He didn’t want to go anywhere or do anything. He kept coming to the ranch, for at least something to do, somewhere to be. Her parents were so supportive, everything his own weren’t. He was pretty sure they didn’t even know he had been working at the restaurant. They hadn’t even met Faye. He didn’t want them to. They’d just ruin it.

With some time though, he felt it passing. Things would never be the same, but maybe they could go back to normal. He felt his focus coming back. Faye kept encouraging him, and he was finally starting to listen. It still hurt, but he could make it work. The school year started coming to a close, his grades started improving again. His birthday came and went without much special notice, Faye tried but she didn’t push too hard when he seemed unwilling to celebrate.

Despite that, he was in a better place finally. He’d move forward, he’d earn money and buy back the building, he’d reopen the Lum and Pinap himself. He’d go to college for cooking, they had all kinds of options in Unova, he’d go with Faye after they graduated.

“Really? You’d follow me all the way to Unova?” Faye asked, walking with Vincent on the way home.

“I mean, why not?” Vincent answered. “You’re… you’re the only thing I have left…”

Arluin huffed at his side, and Vincent patted the Pokemon’s head.

“Arluin’s right, I’m not the only thing left. I mean we’re only 16 - well, you’re 17, but still - there’s so much more out there to see and do! All this is just temporary, you’ll be able to make your own life soon, just like you always told me!”

Faye put a hand on Vincent’s shoulder. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I’m glad I managed to pass everything at least. Sorry for not being as much help this time around though.”

“It’s okay, I did good in the important ones,” Faye replied with a shrug. “Only one more year. Then things start to change for the better.”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “Yeah you’re right. One more year.”

They reached the field where Faye first followed him towards home and paused. Vincent turned to Faye and gave her a hug, a kiss, and a goodbye. He still didn’t have her come much closer, she understood, not wanting to introduce her to his parents. Not out of shame, but out of fear of them ruining things between them.

Vincent walked through the front door of his house with Arluin at his side, and was surprised to find his parents waiting for him in the living room.

“Vincent, we have to speak with you,” his father said.

His heart went cold.

“It’s about things between your father and I, and our living situation,” his mother continued.

He barely heard the rest of the conversation. His father was getting yet another position in yet another region. His mother refused to pick up and move again. They were unhappy together. They were splitting up. She was going back to Kalos, and she was taking Vincent with her. His father was going somewhere else, he didn’t even take note of where.

Vincent stood quietly and nodded as he was spoken to. He offered no arguments. What could he even say? It’s not like they would listen anyway. There was no point. Besides, all he could think of was Faye. Everything he had been planning, every day he had spent with her since he moved here, every moment they had spent together, how happy she had made him.

It was all going away.

***

He was moving away in a week. They wouldn’t even get another summer together. It took him all the next day just to figure out how to tell her. He didn’t want to, and the broken look on her face was exactly why.

“Leaving? But… but…” Faye stammered, shaking her head. “No! No that’s not fair! You can’t leave, you only… What if you stayed with us?”

Vincent barked a soft laugh. “Right. They don’t care about me aside from controlling me, there’s no way they’d let that happen. I… I don’t know Faye. I guess I could try asking I just…”

They stood there, a pair of broken souls failing to find a way to hold each other together, finding no good answers.

“I’ll see what I can do,” Vincent said softly.

He took Faye in his arms and they stood together in silence.

***

It went even worse than he expected. His parents were furious that he’d dare have a life outside of what they knew, that he hadn’t told them he was seeing someone. He yelled back about why it even mattered, that it had been going on for a year, they hadn’t even bothered to ask, what reason did he have for telling them?

Vincent was not allowed to leave the house after that. He felt dead inside as he sent a message to Faye about it. He told her not to come to the house, despite her insistence. He told her when the flight was, to meet him there before he left.

Right on time Faye appeared, and Vincent slipped away as his mother was fussing about luggage.

“I’m sorry Faye, I’m so sorry,” Vincent said, weeping, holding her as close as he could. “I don’t want to leave, I don’t want this to happen.”

“Shhh,” Faye said, stroking the back of his head. “It’ll be okay Vincent, we’ll see each other again. You can do this. Just one more year.”

She stepped back and held the side of his face in her hand and smiled through her own tears. “Just one more year Vincent. Then you can be who you’re supposed to be.”

“Vincent! We are leaving! Now!” His mother shrieked from behind him.

“I’m sorry,” he said one last time, taking her hand off his face and into his own hand. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Now!”

Vincent stored that final smile in his mind as he turned away. Tear soaked as it was, Faye showed no sadness, only gratefulness for every moment she could spend with him. It would never leave his memory.

Not as he tried to re-acclimate himself to Kalosian life and school. Not as he fought with his mother almost every day after that. Not as he failed to get into a Unovan college. Not as he signed up instead to the Pokemon Rangers. Not as he finally moved away, to live in Lumiose at the center of the region. Not as he slowly pushed all the other memories away.

He had told Faye to stop texting him within a year of moving away, it was too painful. It wasn’t fair to her. He was trapped in Kalos, she had goals. She did get into the Unovan college and moved away, and that was the last he heard from her. He never got into another relationship after that, though not every night was spent alone.

But that last memory never left his mind. Faye was always there in a corner of his mind. One other thing he never left behind was cooking, it wouldn’t be fair to Herve. In his memory, the first Pokemon he added to his Ranger team, a Diggersby he raised, was named Herve after the Alolan who taught him so much.

The years went by, and he dedicated his life to being a protector of his region, to be there for those who had no one else, those lost in the wilderness. He was very good at his job. Good enough that, when he was 26 years old, was asked to assist another region with issues that were cropping up. Issues in Unova.

It was strange to him, to finally reach the region he had been denied so long ago. He spent a lot of time very intentionally taking in every inch of the areas he travelled there. It felt like a dream. So much so that one day, when following the river running through Pinwheel Forest, when he spotted a Trainer in a purple shirt, and an Eevee following at her heels, that he swore he was hallucinating. Maybe he’d eaten a bad berry.

Arluin barked, and rushed away from Vincent’s side. He slowed to a stop as the Trainer turned around, and that final memory he refused to push away stared him in the face.

“Vincent? Is that you? What are you doing here?”

**Author's Note:**

> According to Faye's owner I got her oldest Pokemon wrong, it should be an Altaria oops. It's been awhile, but I'll have to fix that eventually...


End file.
